On collision course
by krissixh
Summary: Mafia-AU where Hanji is a normal scientist until one day a short, grumpy mafia-member visits her, demanding that she has to work for them.
1. Chapter 1

A knock on the door made Hanji look up from her work.  
"Come in!" She shouted but the door remained closed. The woman sighed, put her security goggles away and went to open the door.

There were a young blonde woman and a tall man with a blonde ponytail standing a few steps in front. Hanji couldn't remember that she has ever seen them at the university before. Or was she mistaking and those two were students after all?  
"Professor Zoe?" the woman asked.

"Yes, that's me", Hanji said friendly; "How can I help you?"

"We're from the Recon Corps and we need you to, well, do some work for us", the woman answered, equally friendly.

_Recon Corps?_ At first Hanji thought that they were kidding. The Recon Corps was the most dreaded Mafia Organisation in the whole country. Hanji has heard a lot of rumours about them. She couldn't think about a day in the past year where they weren't topics of conversations at the news and local papers. Even if the woman would be lying; why would such a criminalistics organisation seek help from her? After all she was just a normal professor.

"Sorry kids, but I don't have time for your jokes," Hanji responded angrily.

She couldn't even finish her sentence properly when she got a heavy punch in her stomach. Hanji sacked to the floor pained, panting for air. Was there someone standing next to the door all along? She felt a hand grabbing her ponytail and ripping it back so that she had to look up. The first thing Hanji got to see was a pair of dark eyes staring at her gloomily.

"Listen, Miss Scientist. We didn't come here to ask you if you have time for us or not. You'll have to do it if you don't want us to hurt you."

Despite the fact that this short guy with raven hair was threatening her, his voice was calm; _like he was talking about the weather or something_. Finally he loosened his grip. "Now get your ass back in your laboratory. We don't want someone to see us here, don't we?"

Hanji stood up like she was hypnotized. She thought that those kids were joking, but this guy surely was a Mafia member. It wouldn't surprise her if he was the boss in person.

"I told you to get back in you lab, didn't I?" he said severe and pushed her through the open door back in the room. Although he was smaller than her, he had an incredible strength. He entered as well, closing the door behind him. The other two stayed outside. _So he is indeed some kind of leader_ – Hanji thought.

"What a mess", he stated looking around, before he sat down on the only chair in the room. Hanji still didn't move from the spot he pushed her to.  
_What the hell was going on?  
_He glanced at her, amusement in his look. "Won't sit down to talk, Miss Scientist?"

Hanji shook her head, barely noticeable. "What do you want from me?" She asked confused.

"Coming right to the point, huh?" He made a face as he was disappointed. "And here I thought we could have a nice chitchat," he sighed. "So, our scientist - well let's put it like this - 'was fired' before he could finish his work. Now we need a new one", he explained with a calm voice, but a strange glow in his look.

Hanji gulped. This 'was fired' sounded like 'was murdered' in her ears.  
"Why me?" She tried to keep her shaking voice under control. Being alone with this man made her feel uneasy.

"Because you're some kind of modern Einstein, aren't you. The youngest chemistry major this university ever had." He rummaged around in the pocket of his leather jacket while talking. Finally he took out his cigarette.

"Smoking is forbidden in the lab," Hanji said automatically, immediately regretting her words. She bit her tongue. For god's sake, this guy hit her with no hesitation just a minute ago and now she was lecturing him about the smoking rules from the school. _Like he would care!_

The guy just smirked, lighting up his cigarette. "You have guts, trying to forbid me something, Miss Scientist!"

The way he pronounced 'Miss Scientist' made Hanji tremble. He stood up and stepped in front of her, blowing the smoke in her face.

"Do you know where the 'Emperor' hotel is?" he asked.

Hanji just nodded, trying her best not to chough. The smoke irritated her eyes, making them tear up. She wasn't used to smoke since neither she, nor her boyfriend, were smoking.

"My boss has the annoying rule that he wants to meet everyone who's not a member of the Corps; to see if they are trustworthy enough to work for us. But don't worry; the ones' I pick usually don't get shot after the dinner."  
He paused. Just by looking at her you could tell that she was scared.  
"8 p.m.; be punctual and just ask for Rivaille" he added.

Hanji nodded, although she couldn't say if he noticed it, since her whole body was shaking.

"Good girl!" Rivaille turned around, walking to the door. He stopped in front, before opening it.

"Before I forget it: Don't get any stupid ideas. We know everything about you. And if you make the boss angry, I won't make only you, but also your boyfriend suffer. I don't mind him, but I wouldn't want to hurt you, unless I really need to."

With those words he walked out. Hanji stood there motionless for a minute, before she sacked down on the floor. Silent tears were running down her face and her body was still trembling. Just the thought that this scary guy knew everything about her life made her feel like she had to vomit.

.


	2. Chapter 2

„Hanji! You look pale, did anything happen to you?"  
This was the first thing Hanji heard from her boyfriend when she got home. He stood in the small kitchen, with a terrified expression.  
The woman sighed.  
They met each other 7 years ago, when they were in collage. She didn't really have a lot of friends, since people considered her crazy. But this guy was always running after her, not questioning her strange habits. Back then he was her only friend. Both of them started working at the same university 3 years ago.  
And last year he confessed her his feelings. Hanji still wasn't sure if she was a girl who's suitable for a relationship, since she often neglects people around her. But this guy was though; he didn't care much about this, since _'a part of her personality'._

"No, Moblit, I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous because tonight I'll meet a new … business partner." She smiled, trying to signalize him that everything was alright.  
"Oh, who is it?" he asked curious.  
Hanji looked at him. She didn't know what to answer. _Oh, it's the Mafia_! - would definitely sound wrong.  
"I don't know yet … I just met one of his workers," she stuttered, trying not to think about the short, grumpy man in her lab.  
"Where are you going to meet with them?" Moblit continued asking.

That was one of the things Hanji loved and hated about him at the same time. Since she always talked much it was nice that there was somebody who'd actually listen to her and ask her for more details. But today it was tiring.  
"To the 'Emperor' hotel" she replied him.

"Emperor? Wow, that's the most expensive hotel in the area! Your new partner must be rich. Do you know what dinner costs there?" He was totally impressed.  
"I'm sorry, honey. But I need to take a shower and get ready now." She gave him a half-heartedly smile, before she left the kitchen.  
She didn't even know what she should wear for tonight. She didn't have clothes which were elegant enough for the 'Emperor'.

/

A motorbike stopped with screeching tires in front of the 'Titan'-nightclub. The supported the weight of the machine on his right leg, not turning the bike off. At the same time a tall, blonde man with designer stubble stepped out.

"Levi! How can I help you?" the blonde mumbled, with a cigarette between his lips.  
"God dammit, Mike. How often do I have to tell you: Get the fucking cigarette out while you're talking to me!" the driver replied grumpy, propping the helmets visor up; "Anyway, do you know where Erwin is?"  
Mike pointed at the building he just came out: "He's inside."

"What the hell are you guys even doing in a nightclub in the afternoon?" the short man asked uncomprehending.  
"I carried out some modifications inside. Wanna come in and see it?"  
"Tell him that he should be at the 'Emperor' in one hour; I've found a scientist", Levi told him, ignoring Mikes's question. Since Erwin put Mike in care of the club, he had reconstructed it a few times. Levi didn't care about the whole decoration, as long as the money they're earning from it was right.  
"Why don't you go inside and tell it him yourself?" Mike asked him.  
"Because compared to you, I have a job to take care of," Levi replied harshly, putting the visor down. With those words he drove away.

/

Just as Hanji finished her make-up, someone rang on the door. The woman glanced at the mirror. Usually, she doesn't wear make-up, or dresses. The only dress in her possession was a dark green silk dress, which ended just over her knees. Her reflection seemed strange to her.  
"Hanji, they've sent you a driver!" Moblit told her impressed, after opening the door.

Hanji gulped as she recognized the man who visited her with Rivaille that morning.  
"Good evening, Madam. I'm Erd and I'll be your driver tonight", the blonde introduced himself with a charming smile. "Ready to leave?"

"I like your dress", Erd said as they were sitting in the car. It was an expensive-looking Audi with black leather seats inside; "Did you pick the colour on purpose?"  
"What do you mean on purpose?" Hanji asked confused.  
In the rear-view mirror she could see Erd grinning. "It's nothing" , he said and for the rest of the drive neither of them spoke a word.

When they arrived at the hotel, Erd even opened the door for her.  
"I'll accompany you to Mr. Smith's suite", he explained, leading her inside the hotel.  
She followed him, wondering why he was that nice and polite towards her.  
As the elevator stopped on the last floor, Erd didn't exit, though.  
"Just go straight ahead, the dining room is behind that door", he said, pointing towards it.

When Hanji stepped closer to the ajar door, she coud hear Rivaille's voice coming from the room. However she couldn't understand what he was talking, since it wasn't in English. Curiously, she stepped closer, glancing through the half open door.  
He stood in front the glass wall, holding his mobile and facing a stunning skyline of the city.  
Hanji recognized the language; he was talking in, as French. She stood there and listened amazed to his voice. It seemed much calmer.  
_Well, maybe just because it's not in English_; she thought; _Right now he could be giving instructions to kill somebody!_  
Hanji tried to convince herself, annoyed that she was charmed by his voice.  
"Aren't you going to come in?" he suddenly said; in English; making Hanji jump away from the doorframe appalled. He put his phone away, coming towards the door, opening it completely.

"Did no one teach you, that you mustn't eavesdrop?" he asked, with a provoking undertone.  
"It's not that I understood anything", Hanji mumbled, turning her blushing face away.  
He mustered her with his gloomy look; however Hanji could spot a spark of delectableness in it too. She felt like a prey being mustered by his hunter. With a nod he signalized her to enter the room.

"You sure are an interesting woman", Rivaille whispered as she sat down at the table, handing Hanji a glass of wine. His breath being that close to her skin made her shiver.  
It turned out, that Mr. Smith, the don, was in the room as well the whole time since she came. Hanji however only was focused on Rivaille and his voice that she didn't noticed him.  
She felt visibly uneasy between the two men, even though Smith didn't seem like a mafia member at all. He seemed more like the friendly CEO-type to her.  
"So, Hanji", Smith started with a gentle voice. "You're working at the university, aren't you?"  
Hanji just nodded, she was afraid that her voice would break if she tried to speak.  
"Not feeling like chatting, huh" he commented, as she didn't enter his try to small talk.

"Told you, she's a though woman, who has no time for chatting and comes straight to the business", Rivaille explained Smith, just like Hanji wasn't in the room.  
The don just nodded; "Seems so."  
"Well then, Hanji. Want to talk about your job for us now or do you have time until after the diner?"


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing that Hanji noticed was the cold piercing through her body. She couldn't see anything, but she could tell that she was lying on the floor, her hands uncomfortably tied on her back. The woman tried to get up, but a sudden pain in her shoulder made her stop her intention. _Would someone hear me, if I screamed?_ – she wondered.

"It seems like the woman woke up," she heard a voice. _So there was someone in the room._  
"Doesn't look awake," another voice countered.  
"I could swear she just tried to get up."  
"So what if she did? We have orders not to touch her, so shut up already."

Then, silence. Hanji couldn't tell how long she was lying there like that, until she heard a door being opened.  
"What the fuck is she doing on the floor?"  
The new voice was a familiar one. It was Levi's. She heard footsteps coming towards her.  
"Oi, Miss Scientist, are you awake?"  
"Mhm."

Although she couldn't see anything, she could _feel _his amused look on her.  
The next thing she felt was a tight grip on her arm, dragging her up. Then the blindfold was removed. She had to blink a few times until her eyes get used to the light in the room.  
The first thing she got to see in front of her was Rivaille, with a knife in his hands.  
"Don't worry, I just want to release your hands," he said.

"Now," Levi started, turning around to the two other persons who were in the room before he got in; "who the hell did this to her?"  
The two men in front of him were scared stiff.  
"We … we just tried to obey the orders from above," one of them stuttered.  
Levi stepped closer to them.

"I don't remember ordering you such a thing," Levi's voice was furious.  
"No, but Mr. …" the other guy tried to say something, but he was to slow. Levi's fist punched him in the stomach, making the guy fall to the floor. Unintentionally Hanji remembered how he has done the same thing to her, two days ago.

"Now listen, you scum. Don't you fucking dare to come even close to her, understood? She is under my control and my protection. The next time you do something to her and it wasn't me who ordered you so, I'll kill you," he snarled.

Then he turned back to Hanji. "I'll drive you home."

In the car, she was afraid to even look at him. She couldn't even remember what had happened. The last thing in her memory was the dinner with Rivaille and his boss and after that stepping outside from the hotel.

"You shouldn't have refused my offer to drive you home," he said suddenly, breaking the silence in the car.  
Hanji finally managed to look in his direction. "I'm sorry," she whispered.  
"Look, I can't always run around to save your ass. Keep in mind that you're

Then again, silence until he stopped in front of her building. "Do you know where the "Titan" is?" Levi asked.  
Hanji looked at him, confused; "The nightclub?"  
Levi rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed. "Are there other buildings named like that?"  
"No. I just don't get it, why you bring up a club now," she stuttered.  
He leaned to her side.  
"Because, sweetheart, there's a pretty meth-lab in the cellar," he whispered conspiratorial.  
"4 p.m. don't you dare being late!"

As she stood on the sidewalk, looking at his BMW driving away, Hanji tried to convince herself that her heart was beating faster because of the shocking experience from tonight, and not from Levi's _sweetheart_.

/

Levi was sitting at the bar in the "Titan". Mike was behind the counter, cleaning glasses. Nanaba, Mike's first assistant was sitting on the bar stool next to Levi.

"I don't get it why you're so upset," she told him. In the time waiting at Hanji, he has told them about what happened yesterday.  
"You know that they catch every potential new member, and keep them in the base, waiting for Smith's approval to let them free or to make them disappear," the woman reminded Levi of the procedure he should know.

Levi harrumphed, taking another gulp of his drink.  
"Since when do we throw them on the floor? The last time my squad was in charge of this, we let them sit on chairs," he mocked.

Mike giggled, pouring more whiskey in Levi's glass.  
"They had a guy who tried to escape. He fell down, including the chair, and broke his arm," he said.  
"Anyway, why are you so obsessed with this girl?"

Levi just gave him a killing glance, looking at his phone. "She's late."

Nanaba leaned to him, so that she could see the display as well.  
"5 whole minutes. Somehow I like this girl. She's the first one that doesn't obey you completely and she's still alive," she said perkily.

"If he would kill every person that pisses him off, he'd have killed you a long time ago," Mike barged in.  
"He's right," Levi nodded and finished his drink.  
"Oh come on! I know that shorty loves me," Nanaba laughed and hugged him. 

/

Since she could remember, Hanji was an unpunctual person. It's not that she did it on purpose, but sometimes it happened that she simply oversaw the time. Like now.  
She ran down the street like an idiot, ignoring the stitch, gasping for air.

Finally she could see the 'Titan' in front of her. Although Hanji has never been there, she knew that it was very popular, but now, at the bright daylight, it seemed abandoned.

She stopped in front of the door, looking up on the building. She wondered if they were very angry at her. Well, Rivaille surely was.

"Just grit your teeth and do it," she mumbled to herself and stepped in.


	4. Chapter 4

When you're going to a club, you'd normally think that there were drinks stored in the cellar, maybe some old furniture too. But who would think that there'd be an ultra-modern laboratory.

Hanji stopped at the last stair, looking around in the room. The walls of the room were white, and so clean that she was afraid they would blind her, if she looks at them for longer than a few seconds. The workstation with a sink took over the most part of the room, and there were two mobile cabinets in the corner. The equipment on the desk was neatly arranged.

Rivaille sat down on one of the stools beside the workstation. With his black hair and dark clothes he didn't fit in the spotless white room at all.

"Won't you step inside?" he asked, his look fixed on Hanji.

Hanji gulped and took the last step. Slowly she walked towards the other chairs, looking around in the room.

"Impressed?" Levi asked her as she finally sat down next to him.  
She nodded. "And what am I supposed to do here?"

Levi sighed, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. "Never in the mood for a nice chat, are you?"  
Hanji looked at him and, for the first time since she has met him, she smiled. It was amusing, that he always acted that insulted when she asked something about _work_.  
"Technically speaking, talking about my job is also some kind of chatting," she said meekly.

Levi cocked his head, a mixture of huff and astonishment at the same time in his look. "Oh god, why did I accepted to deal with this shit?" he said visibly annoyed.

He stood up and went to one of the cabinets, taking out a notebook.  
"Well, what do you know about the Recon Corps?"

"Not really much," Hanji admitted. "I guess you deal with drugs and kill people?"

"Well, the drug dealing is the biggest part. We control 70% of the drug traffic worldwide. The killing part, however, isn't really our profession."  
"We eliminate just the annoying ones," he added provokingly and looked her straight in the eyes.

It could be that Levi excepted from her to be shocked by such a statement, but all that Hanji could do, was to grin at him.  
"So you're a drug dealer?" she asked, ignoring his last statement.

Levi shook his head: "No, that's the job of the lower ranks. Mike and Nanaba, the two you met upstairs, control the dealers. My squad is in charge of the arms deal and we keep the members under control."

Now he was standing next to her, putting the notebook on the table.  
"Here are the notes from our last scientist. Read them and tell me later if you're able to do it or not."

With those words he walked towards the stairs. "I'll send Nanaba down to help you. Arrange it among yourselves when you'll start your work."

When he closed the door behind him, Hanji let out a deep-drawn sigh. Once again, she wondered how the hell she even ended up here. She run over the pages of the notebook in front of her and immediately let out another sigh. They were all scrawled with formulas and nearly indecipherable notes next to them.

Hanji took out her phone and sent Moblit a message, not to wait for her with dinner. She had a feeling that this would be a long night, just trying to decipher the scribbling.

Eventually Nanaba came down with two cups of coffee. The blonde woman was much nicer than Levi and explained Hanji the details of their work more precise. After three hours, they managed to get an overview of the first pages.

"For the beginning, we just need the ones described on the first six pages. Do you think you can do it?" Nanaba asked curiously.

Hanji looked at the page in front of her again. The whole book was full with "_recipes_" for all kinds of drugs Hanji never has heard of. However, the formulas from the first pages weren't a big deal for someone with Hanji's degree. It wouldn't be that difficult to make them.

Hanji could say no. She could stick to her morals. She has a vow with herself, that she wouldn't do illegal stuff. _For fucks' sake; she didn't even download music illegally and now they're asking her this._  
She could just say no and walk away from this mad cellar.

"I can try it."

She could have said no, but there was this indescribable longing not to do so.

/

Levi was sitting with Erwin in the don's suite at the "Emperor". Levi just wanted to light up another cigarette, when his mobile beeped.

"Any good news?" Erwin asked, looking up from his laptop.

"Hanji said yes," Levi said with a snooty smirk.

Erwin leaned back in his chair, adjusting his tie. "One problem less. You did a good job finding her."

"We still don't know if she'll do a good job," he reminded Erwin. It bugged Levi that Erwin considered the job as completed, before she even started it.  
"Anyway, we have other problems now. It could be that the MP knows about the deal with the Chinese Mafia." Levi said and his gaze wandered to the glass wall. The last days were misty and it affected his bad mood even more. "At least they know where the transfer location is. They're observing it."

"And how they're supposed to know that?" Erwin asked surprised. There were only a few people within the Corps that knew that there should be a big deal with the Chinese.

Levi shrugged his shoulders. "I have Erd and Auruo in charge to find this out."

Erwin nodded and closed his laptop. "We mustn't muddle this one. You know how important it is."  
He looked at the Rolex around his wrist.  
"I have a meeting. Look to settle this matter."

/

* * *

_AN: Sorry that you have to wait long for the updates .. new year resolution is to update quicker ^^_

_Happy New Year guys 3_


	5. Chapter 5

In the whole city of Trost there were only five abandoned, run-down buildings left, due to the major's ambition to turn Trost in the most modern and powerful city in the whole region. For the townspeople the sky-scrapers and the numerous hotels may be a good thing, but for Levi they were simply a pest. Indeed, you have a better overview of the area from high buildings, but this applied also for the police.

Levi observed two undercover-agents entering an office block with suspicious-looking suitcases.  
The office block was across from one of the five abandoned buildings, which was – _what a coincidence!_ – the transfer location for the big deal with the Chinese Mafia.  
The Recon Corps have used the building for the last years, because the citizens literally _ignored_ it. Levi wondered how the police have found out about it just now.

"I don't get it, Sir," Gunther said. He was sitting on the drivers' seat of Levi's BMW X5, drumming with his fingers on the wheel. "How can you be sure that the MP knows about the deal?"

"Have you seen the two guys that just entered the building?" Levi asked, pointing towards it.

"Yes. But couldn't it be that they're just normal employees?"

Levi shook his head with a light smirk. "The taller on with the poor fitting suite was Nile Dawk. He's the Special-Agent in Charge of the Mafia. However, it seems like they only know the location, but not the date. They're observing the buildings for three days in a row with the whole team on standby."

He put away his binoculars and fastened his seatbelt – the sign for Gunther that he could drive away.  
"We'll have to change the location," he said as they passed the block where the MP just disappeared.

"But they'll get suspicious if we don't show up to check the building soon," Gunter objected.

"You're saying that we should pretend like we don't know anything about them and that the deal will take place here?" Levi asked him.

"Yes, some kind of deception while the real deal is running somewhere else," the driver said while filtering into the traffic on the boulevard for the inner city.

"Sounds good to me!" Levi said impressed. "Can you plan this one and drop me out at the 'Titans'? You can keep the car."

"Sure." Gunther didn't ask his boss since when he was so eager to go to Mike's club. He knew that Levi said numerous times that this club was a total nonsense. But in the last days he spent a suspiciously long time there; and this in the afternoon, where it hasn't even open.

/

Hanji stood next to Mike in the cellar and looked down on the pink powder on the tablet in front of them.  
"Ehm … Is this supposed to be pink?" she asked him confused.

Mike bent down a little and sniffed a few times. "Normally not, but …"  
The blonde licked his finger and dunked it in the powder. He raised the finger and starred on the pink powder sticking on it.  
"It smells like it normally should."

Hanji scratched her head, trying to remember if she had done anything wrong. As long as she could remember, she has done everything according the formula in the notebook.

"Guess who's here!"  
They suddenly heard Nanaba's voice. Automatically they turned their heads towards the stairs. Nanaba was coming down with Levi in tow.

"I just came to check if the lab is still in good order," he said with his usual uninterested tone.

"Sure you are," Mike said with a grin.  
"Look, we have pink powder," he added and stretched his finger in their direction.

"Isn't it supposed to be white?" Nanaba asked and looked at it with a confused mien.

"Yes, but this one smells just like it normally should," Mike said, still holding his arm stretched out.  
Hanji didn't know how she expected Nanaba to react, but surely not the way the blonde woman just did.

Nanaba just grabbed Mike's hand and licked the powder off the finger.  
"It tastes like it should," she declared with a victorious grin, turning to Hanji: "Good job!"

"You two just made her feel awkward with your stupid behaviour," Levi said annoyed. He went to the table, inspecting, not the powder; but the surface of the workstation and the equipment.  
"What a mess!" he rented with a frowning mien.

"Don't you have a deal to plan instead of inspecting the lab?" Nanaba asked him cheekily.

He just harrumphed, giving her a disapproving glance. "You talk too much, blondie."

Hanji looked between them and she couldn't understand what the hell was going on. While Levi had a terrifying mien, Nanaba just grinned at him. Was he mad because the woman mentioned the deal in front of Hanji?  
_He wouldn't have any reason, though; it's not like I can go to the police and tell them_ – Hanji thought.  
She turned to Mike, taking of her lab coat. "I'll go now, if you don't need anything else?"

The blonde man looked at Levi and Nanaba, who now started a heated debate, and then back to Hanji. "You know what, I'll drive you home."

/

Levi was so concentrated on Nanaba that he didn't notice that Hanji was packing her stuff to go home. As he finally understood the situation, the woman was already heading for the stairs with Mike.  
"I'll drive Hanji home. Make sure not to destroy the lab while fighting," the blonde said.

"Ah, dammit!" Levi sat down on the workstation and took out a cigarette.

"You're pissed off because you wanted to drive her home?" Nanaba asked and sat down next to him, accepting the cigarette Levi offered her wordlessly. That was one thing about their friendship she liked the most; they often fought about the most ridiculous things, but he never bore such a grunge against her that he wouldn't offer her a cigarette.

He passed her the lighter, wondering if he should talk to her or not. In the end, he decided to do so.  
"Is it that obvious?"

"So you do like her? I knew it!" she said enthusiastically and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I don't know, I mean she's ... well, she's an interesting woman," he said. "But; if you tell this anyone, I'll reveal _your_ little secret and kill you after that. And this time it's not an empty threat."

Nanaba laughed and jumped down of the table. "I wouldn't dare to do so, shorty."  
"Now let's get a drink before Mike comes back!"

/

"Special Agent Dawk," Nile answered his phone.

"They're changing the location of the deal," the voice on the other line said.

The Agent looked at the laptop which showed a video of three masked men coming out of a black BMW. The MP has hidden monitoring cameras in the underground garage of the building.

"I don't think so. Right now they're checking the location," he said angrily.  
What was the suppose of having a mole in the Mafia, when he received wrong information from it?

The voice on the other line sneered. "Fine, then stay there and observe a building where nothing will happen tonight."

"No, wait!" Nile almost shouted in his mobile to prevent the other from hanging up. "Tell me where the real deal will take place."

/


	6. Chapter 6

„Hanji?" Moblits voice snapped Hanji out of her thoughts. She looked around, as if she had to remember where she was.  
"Sorry, what did you just say?" she asked.  
"Can you change the channel? I want to see the news," he said as he sat down next to her.

The woman nodded and gave him the remote. He'd always watch the 11 p.m. news before he went to bed. Since Hanji thought that it was boring she stood up and went towards bedroom; she had to get up early after all.

"_Good evening, my name is John Waters and you're watching the Chanel 1 news. The headlines of tonight: Earthquake in Japan. Another Civil war in Syria? And as we just heard about: 3 dead at swoop on the Mafia in Trost_ …"

Hanji was about to close the door when she heard the last one. _Swoop on the Mafia_? She froze on the spot. No, it couldn't be! Unintentionally she remembered what Nanaba said to Levi two days ago. "_Don't you have a deal to plan?_"  
She busted out of the bedroom, stumbling towards the living room where the TV stood. Her noisy entrance made Moblit jump off the sofa in fear.  
"Hanji? What is it?"

She stopped in front of the TV, where they showed pictures of armours and soldiers.  
"Was the report about the Mafia on?" she asked hysterically.

"What? No … Why?" Moblit asked with a confused voice.  
But Hanji ignored his question and continued starring on the TV.  
_Oh god, what if something has happened to Rivaille or Mike and Nanaba?  
_She didn't even notice that she was trembling.  
"Oh, fuck you! Who cares about the gas-prize?" she shouted as they brought that report instead of the one about the swoop.

"_And the following news just came in: One hour ago the MP of Trost broke a deal between the Recon Corps and the Chinese Mafia. We know from a reliable source that the MP, under the direction of Special Agent Nile Dawk, managed to arrest some members of both Mafias. Unfortunately it came to an exchange of fire. As our source confirms, there are three dead and several seriously injured … Now to the sports with Andrew Braun_."

/

Moblit couldn't understand what in the world was going on when his girlfriend broke down in tears in front of the TV.

/

When Levi opened his eyes, he found himself on the sofa in Erwin's suite. He felt an inhuman pain piercing through his body as he got up.

"Corporal! Thanks heavens, you're alright," he heard Petra's voice coming from the door. He looked towards it and saw her and Erwin entering.

"I told you to cut out the 'Corporal'," he said and grimaced in pain. The 'Corporal' was a nickname the media has given him some years ago and his squad used to call him like that, but they eventually stopped it – except for Petra.  
Levi looked down on his body, only to find his chest covered with blood-soaked bandages. _Oh, fuck it!_

Erwin grabbed a chair and placed it right in front of Levi. He sat down on it with an angry mien. Petra stopped next to him and looked anxiously at Levi's chest.  
"The deal was a complete disaster," Erwin said with an angst-inducing voice. "Care to explain what happened?"

"Boss?" Petra piped up quietly; "Can I change the bandages first?"

Smith glanced at her and then at Levi's chest. "He'll survive another five minutes. Can you leave us alone?"

She threw a last glance at her wounded superior and then turned around to leave. Halfway Levi's call for her name made her stop.  
"What happened to Gunther and Erd?"  
She turned around and gave him a soft smile. "They're uninjured."

"So," Erwin started again; "what happened out there?"

Levi tried to find a position where his wound didn't hurt like hell, before he recalled the deal.  
"The MP knew the first location, so we changed it to the one building near the Sina-bridge. Everything proceeded like usual. They checked the goods and just as we were negotiating about the price the MP busted in and there was such a chaos – everyone tried to escape and then those jerks started shooting."  
He paused for a second, before he asked the question whose answer he was most afraid of.  
"Did everyone make it back alive?"

"No serious injuries except for Braun and Leonhardt. However the MP confiscated the van Springer was driving and they arrested him," Erwin said with a serious tone.

Levi sighed and leaned back in the sofa, ignoring the pain that pierced again through his body. He put his whole team in danger because he was too reckless.  
"Wait; we had split the weapons in two vans," he suddenly remembered. "What happened to the one Sasha was driving?"

"There was another van?" Erwin asked; it was obvious that he hasn't heard about it.

"Yes, with goods amounting to $ 850.000," Levi said and tried to get up. "I need to find out what happened to her."

"No, you don't," Erwin said determinately and pushed him back on the sofa. "You'll let Petra change your bandages and then rest. I'll go to take a look at the others and try to find out what happened to Braus."

"Fuck you! Do you intend to kill me here," Levi hissed as he landed. There was another stabbing pain through his chest and this time Levi felt like he would vomit.

Erwin just grinned and stood up. "Shut up. If it wasn't for Erd you wouldn't even be here."

Levi gave him a last furious glance, before he collapsed on the sofa.

/

The next morning, the swoop on the Recon Corps seemed to be the topic number 1 for every conversation. Hanji tried her best to avoid small talk with her colleagues because she wasn't sure if she could handle that topic without breaking down in tears again.

So she spent the ten minutes before the lecture would start alone at the coffee dispenser, looking at her phone. It bugged her that she hasn't received any news from Levi. She couldn't even understand why she cared that much about him.  
_Well, it's not like he'd have a reason to call especially me _– she thought bitterly.  
_But what if the arrested or, even worse, shot him yesterday?_

"Good morning, Miss Zoe," Michael and Jacob, two of her students, greeted her and stopped in front of the dispenser as well.

Hanji greeted back and wondered for a second if she should just walk away from them.

"Have you heard the news about the swoop?" Jacob asked.

"Yes, I did," she said.  
Hanji's urge to get away from them rose, but then it came to her mind that they'd eventually know more than she does, since Michael's father worked for the government.  
"Do they already know who the dead ones are?" she asked.

"They're all from the MP. Can you imagine this? Those assholes managed to kill three armored agents," Michael said angrily.

Hanji tried her best, not to dissemble how relieved she was. _So Levi is alright, he's alive!_

"Well, but I heard that the Recon Corps have suffered some damage as well," Jacob pointed out.  
"I heard that the MP managed to injure the leader deadly. He may have escaped, but there's no way he'd stay alive after three shots in the chest."

/


End file.
